Zanza
Zanza (ザンザ; English dub: ), originally Klaus, is a central character in Xenoblade Chronicles. He existed before the creation of the game's universe. Long before the events of the game, Zanza possesses a giant from Bionis, who is subsequently confined by the High Entia on Prison Island. He reveals himself to be the creator of the Monado to Shulk and his party. Appearance Zanza's appearance changes throughout both his life and the game. Chronologically speaking, he first was a human (or a human-like individual) whose appearance was that of a stereotypical scientist. Upon the creation of Bionis, he essentially became the Bionis' immortal soul, causing his appearance to match that of the god. However, when he is first met at the top of Prison Island, Zanza is in possession of Arglas' body. After the death of Arglas, Zanza vanishes, only to reappear much later, having taken on his true form, which happens to greatly resemble Shulk. In this true form, he gains wings and a strange revolving halo above his head. He eventually transforms into a version of Bionis and it is in this form that he fights Shulk. After this, his top half becomes a Mechonis-styled torso and arms while his lower half becomes a Telethia-styled set of wings, representing the fact that he has combined both the powers of Mechonis and Bionis into one being. The glowing symbols move to the tips of the tail-wings. Story Prior to Xenoblade Chronicles Zanza, named Klaus at the time, was once a scientist whose curiosity was so great that he attempted to change the universe. His experiment was a complete success, in that he essentially wiped out the universe's initial existence, taking the Earth and the rest of the Universe with it, and restarted it. Zanza and Meyneth emerged from the endless sea of this new universe as Bionis and Mechonis respectively. Many years before the start of Xenoblade Chronicles, Zanza began to fear the day when his brethen would leave him, since it would mean his own demise because of not regaining the ether from the deceased denizens of the Bionis. Coupled with his growing loneliness and the fading of awareness of him among the denizens of the Bionis, convinced Zanza to engineer a cycle of destruction and regeneration, in which all life must eventually be destroyed, returning to him to be recreated, in order to avoid his own demise. Zanza possessed the body of the giant Arglas through the Monado. In this body he warred against the Mechonis and was defeated as Bionis, but not before enlisting the services of Dickson, Lorithia, and Alvis as his Trinity of Disciples. Choosing Alvis, however, proved to lead to Zanza's undoing. Present Day Allowing his flesh to be held inside Prison Island and his soul, inside the Monado, locked in Ose tower, Zanza (still in Arglas' body) rests and recovers his strength. He was awakened when the Monado was discovered by an exploration party of Homs from Colony 9. He sucked their lifeforces to replenish himself, then came to inhabit a young boy who was among the explorers. That young boy was carried off to Colony 9 by Dickson, and was raised as Shulk. In this form, Zanza waited until the day when the Monado would be usable to Shulk, so his flesh would be released. When Shulk's group arrives to Prison Island, the Mechon begin to attack. Zanza makes a deal with Shulk: he will unlock the Monado's true strength if he is released from the shackles. Shulk eventually agrees and releases Zanza. However, just as Zanza appears to be back at full strength, Metal Face appears and stabs him with a strange green spear. Shulk and friends drive off both him and Face Nemesis. Then they decide to give chase after them to end it once and for all. Zanza disappears into a cloud, but is apparently still sentient. Alvis communicates with Zanza, telling him how he could have taken the hit for him. At this point Zanza fades. Rebirth of Zanza After Shulk is shot in the back by Dickson, Zanza emerges from Shulk. He reveals his motives for possessing Shulk, as well his desire to destroy and reoriginate all life. He effortlessly defeats Egil and maims Yaldabaoth. He moves in to attack the party, but Meyneth unleashes her Monado and attacks Zanza. After a short fight, Zanza notices that Meyneth is not fighting at her full strength, and tries to attack Shulk. When he tries to destroy all of the party, Meyneth leaves Fiora's body and takes the full blunt of the attack, sacrificing herself in the process. Zanza then takes Meyneth's Monado and leaves the party. He teleports to Prison Island, which he sinks inside the head of the Bionis and starts the process of turning the High Entia into Telethia. He uses the Bionis to attack the fleeing party, but Egil uses the Mechonis to defend them, and wounds the Bionis before being destroyed. Bionis Reawakens After Bionis reawakens, Zanza is not seen, save a few scenes in which he is in space. After defeating Lorithia in the Bionis' Interior, and defeating Dickson at the summit of Prison Island, a teleporter appears and the team is transported to space. In space, the team fights Zanza where he has both his and Meyneth's Monado, making him more powerful than ever before. Zanza states that now that he possesses Meyneth's Monado, he has complete control over the passage of fate, and he no longer needs a vessel. The team fights his first form, then his second form. He is at level ???, but people suggest that he is around level 82. His creations are level 78 on the first fight and level 80 on the second. After beating Zanza, Shulk gains the Monado III, which Zanza sees as a betrayal by Alvis. Zanza is destroyed by Shulk before he realised that his powers, though godly, are just as limited by fate as all things. Alvis, the physical manifestation of the Monado, asks Shulk what he desires to do with this power. He replies, "I wish for a world with no need for gods" and tosses the Monado aside, ending the need for gods and Bionis itself. The geography of the world is thus transformed into a state similar to how it was originally, with continents instead of titans. It is unclear how similar this universe is supposed to be to the original prior to Zanza, Meyneth and company's experiment, but The Monado's parting words indicates an optimistic future. Zanza's True Motives Many question Zanza's motives, much like Dickson's motives, which were never exactly explained. When first introduced to Zanza, in his true form, it is clear that he wishes to destroy Bionis and recreate the universe in his own image "...as he has done many times before." However later down the line it is revealed that this universe was created through some form of experiment, an experiment that destroyed his original universe and created the one of Mechonis and Bionis. Therefore Zanza's original plans with his experiment and what he actually wanted in the end were two completely different things. Thus it is still unclear what his motives were, exactly. Quotes "Let the shackles be released!" "I sense a storm on the horizon." " zanza 1.jpg|Zanza when you fight using Fiora/Meyneth zanza 2.jpg|Zanza when you fight him in Space Memory zanza 3.jpg|Zanza fight for the last two times. zanza concepts.jpg zanza final concept.jpg Category:Bosses Category:Gods Category:Antagonists Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Deceased Characters Category:Unknown Species Category:Shulk Category:Pages with spoilers